Cooking ancient, traditional food for modern-day health

Jaehee Yi mixes the ingredients for kimchi in her Rose Park kitchen. Photo by Gabriela Cetrola|Jaehee Yi mixes the ingredients for kimchi in her Rose Park kitchen. Photo by Gabriela Cetrola|||||||

by Jaehee Yi

I was born and raised in Korea. I started cooking, I mean seriously cooking for family, at about 8 years old with a keen interest in food and its preparation. As I grew up I took as many cooking classes as my time allowed – from baking to Korean Royal Palace cooking. Before I came to the United States in 2003, I agonized over two options: pursuing a Master’s of Social Work in the U.S .or attending culinary school in France. Well, I came to the U.S., obtained the MSW degree, and now I am a professor at the University of Utah’s College of Social Work, but my personal passion is still physical and spiritual healing through food.

Living in the U.S., I have learned how to cook Western food, but I always go back to the traditional food that I learned from my mom and grandma. I am so happy to share a recipe for Korean Cabbage Kimchi, which is Korea’s signature fermented dish and touted for its health benefits.

There are many legends about how Korean Kimchi started. About 3,000 years ago, an ancient dish that was similar to the current form of Kimchi was mentioned in a book, but who knows, it is possible that Kimchi was already made well before written language was used.

In the United States, Korean Kimchi brings an image of red cabbage, however, there are about 100 different kinds of Kimchi. Koreans eat Kimchi in every meal, fresh, or as an ingredient for dishes. Kimchi’s health benefit began to gain attraction in 2002 when the SARS infection was widespread throughout the globe. China and Japan were heavily hit by the epidemic, but Korea, which is located between the two countries, did not have anyone affected. These days, you can find Kimchi in Smith’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Food Market, and other major grocery stores. But, homemade is always THE best. Here is a simple recipe you can try today. You won’t ever need probiotics supplements, if you eat Kimchi regularly.

Korean Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients:

1. 1 big Nappa cabbage (Most major food stores have them. Choose one that is similar in size to a small loaf of sandwich bread.)